User Panel
Hands down the Ranger as it meets all your requirements and needs and most of your desires/wishes.
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Of those options, Ranger. Think it looks the best between it and the Colorado. And would take either of those over a Tacoma.
Gladiator as others have mentioned could be an option as well since towing isn't a big requirement. Just remember it's more jeep than anything else and has a price premium because of that. |
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Bought a 2015 GMC Canyon. Still have it and still like it.
But the only one who can tell if they're going to like the interior for another 215k miles is you. Probably not the best time to be buying though. Running out of shit for the lines to produce more trucks. |
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I only have experience with the the Tacoma. Mines a 2016 and I got it heavily discounted. For the price I paid I like it, at full price I would pass it up and get a fullsize used. However I feel the same about the Ranger and the Colorado.
It rides well, handles decent. Ride height is nice. I like the interior design but there isn't much room. If you're tall your head may be close to the ceiling. The transmissions in these are a bit odd. On the road it will try to settle in the highest gear with lowest rpm, when you touch the gas it'll downshift immediately. Some guys absolutely hate it. |
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If you can hold off till later this year, look at the 2022 Nissan Frontier.
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Quoted: My 07 F150 has 215k miles and is acting up. Coils and plugs keep burning up and the trans seems to be going out. I dont tow anything big, never will. Between the Tacoma, Colorado and Ranger, what would you get? Do you have either? Do you like yours? What is the best 4x4 of the three under $40,000? Even tho i want a 4x4, this will be a daily driver to work and will only see light off roading for hunting and bad weather. View Quote You might want to consider a subscription to Consumer Reports. I was surprised to view the various ratings and issues with your three selections. BTW, a monthly subscription is only $10 and an annual subscription is only $39. https://www.consumerreports.org/join I have been subscribing to them for decades and they have saved me so much money in addition to alerting me to best and poor products in the same product line. Good luck with your search! |
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Test drove a Tacoma and a Ranger. Ranger drove much better than the Tacoma.
Still ended up with an F-150. More room for growing kids and camping gear. |
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I had a Ranger once, never ever again.
The Colorado/S10, no way. Tacoma, winner by a mile. |
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I had a 16 Tacoma until I got hit and it was totaled. Insurance money only allowed me to buy a 2019 Colorado.
The taco got better gas mileage and had better ground clearance. The Colorado has all the interior bell and whistles and is a much better and comfy ride. Taco has better resale value. Colorado transmission is way better and the engine has a stronger pull to me. |
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Quoted: My 07 F150 has 215k miles and is acting up. Coils and plugs keep burning up and the trans seems to be going out. I dont tow anything big, never will. Between the Tacoma, Colorado and Ranger, what would you get? Do you have either? Do you like yours? What is the best 4x4 of the three under $40,000? Even tho i want a 4x4, this will be a daily driver to work and will only see light off roading for hunting and bad weather. View Quote Honda Ridgeline. No joke. Honda Ridgeline with torque vectoring AWD. |
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Quoted: No they don't. I just drove a 2019 Tacoma... it's more spacious than my Accord- in the front anyway. I'm a pretty big dude. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: All of those have cramped shitbox interiors tighter than a Honda Civic. No they don't. I just drove a 2019 Tacoma... it's more spacious than my Accord- in the front anyway. I'm a pretty big dude. I just looked at '21 Tacoma a week or so ago, and I was appalled by how tight it was inside. I drove an 8th gen Civic for several years, and the Taco felt worse than that. For fun, here are some numbers... 2021 Taco Double Cab: Front head room- 39.7 Rear head room- 38.3 Front leg room- 42.9 Rear leg room- 32.6 2021 Honda Civic Sedan: Front head room- 39.3 Rear head room- 37.1 Front leg room- 42.3 Rear leg room- 37.4 The front head and leg room numbers are nearly identical. In the rear, the Taco has 1.2" more head room, but the Civic has 4.8" more leg room. So, yeah... the Tacoma's interior really is in Honda Civic territory. |
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I've got a 2012 Tacoma 4x4 and I have 160k trouble free miles from it and I have not been gentle. I would recommend that gen Tacoma for your needs, but I've heard a lot of bad stuff about the newest generation.
Should I decide to get rid of this truck I'll be looking real hard at the Ranger. |
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Had Ford- Never again. Remember when V8s in F150s (and others) would shoot spark plugs out because dumbass engineers couldn't figure out threading? No recall, SOL for expensive fixes.
Had Nissan- Never again- Dumbass engineers couldn't figure out how to cool engines and blew up thousands of trannys. No recall, SOL for REALLY expensive fixes. Had Tacos (twice)- No issues. Some minor recalls, fixed promptly at their cost. YES. People who complain or say that the Fords and Chevys "drive" better aren't really truck people. They're car people who want to look like truck people. Of course the Tacos ride a little rougher. I'm 6'2" and sure a little more room would be nice, but I woudn't trade comfort for reliability and great offroad capabilities. YMMV |
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Sitting in a Toyota dealership buying a new Tacoma, when I saw this thread. I like mine so far; 15 miles. 4x2 |
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You seem to keep your vehicles for a long time and for a lot of miles. A 2007 F150 with 215k miles?
With that in mind is it even a question? I would get the Toyota hands down if you are going to keep this truck possibly that long and put that many miles on it. The resale of a 14 year old Toyota that many miles on it will be light years ahead of a Ranger or Colorado. If the Ranger and Colorado survive that many miles. If you’re going to keep it 3-4 years flip a coin and get whatever. |
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If they put eco boost in the ranger id stay away I had a fusion that blew a turbo and took the engine with it. My buddy had a Colorado with the mini dmax and loved it. Got rid of it when he got a job that gave him a vehicle for personal and work use
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Quoted: Are you comparing trucks from 20 years ago? Cause the S10 has been gone for forever, and the new rangers are nothing like the old rangers. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: I had a Ranger once, never ever again. The Colorado/S10, no way. Tacoma, winner by a mile. Are you comparing trucks from 20 years ago? Cause the S10 has been gone for forever, and the new rangers are nothing like the old rangers. This is GD, you're lucky they aren't comparing it to a F-100. |
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Quoted: If they put eco boost in the ranger id stay away I had a fusion that blew a turbo and took the engine with it. My buddy had a Colorado with the mini dmax and loved it. Got rid of it when he got a job that gave him a vehicle for personal and work use View Quote It comes with a proven 2.3L Ecoboost. I've owned 3 Ecoboost cars including an F150, ST, and RS. All heavily modified and driven hard. None of them had issues unless it was something I did that caused the problem. Neighbor has a 19 Ecoboost ranger with a 5 star tune on it, it's quite impressive and fun to drive. |
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The Tacoma does nothing great (or even good), but does all things kind of just ok.
Just had mine on some trail in Utah and Colorado these past few weeks. It's a capable little mountain goat which impressed me because I'm not a fan of the Tacoma. Please. Drive one in a hilly or mountainous area before buying. I wish I did. I test drove 3 times on flat midwestern ground and bought one. The second it saw a hill on a trip back east, I immediately had buyer's remorse. I thought the transmission was going to grenade. I had to have it looked at by a dealer 5 states away...."Nope. Normal" was what I was told. The Tech told me flat out. "These are great little trucks, but they are not meant for towing or mountains." The ECU refresh (TSB Drivability Concerns) from the dealer made it better, but it's not what I would consider a "fix". I like the truck.....I don't love the truck. It fits in the garage and my wife likes to drive it over my other 4 full sized trucks. It was for work, but it really can't do work with it's little plastic bed. 1/2 ton would be a stretch. I don't buy trucks for gas milage, but the Tacoma sucks in that department too. The rare time I see 18MPG as an average....I feel like I hit the lottery. It's a toy for me. A street legal side by side with heat and a shitty radio. We use it for camping out of (I made a nice sleeping platform with storage underneath). It is not for serious use of any kind. 2020 OR. 6 ft bed. Double cab. It's grown on me and I can live with it. I could never use one for work or as a daily driver. Especially on anything but flat ground. Great looking truck. I get lots of compliments on it. But it's just a toy. I would look elsewhere if buying another truck today. |
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Quoted: It comes with a proven 2.3L Ecoboost. I've owned 3 Ecoboost cars including an F150, ST, and RS. All heavily modified and driven hard. None of them had issues unless it was something I did that caused the problem. Neighbor has a 19 Ecoboost ranger with a 5 star tune on it, it's quite impressive and fun to drive. View Quote I've had two ecoboost, a 1.8 or whatever in a Fusion that lost a turbo and the 3.5 in a Raptor that ate cam phasers. The Fusion was a fleet car and over half of them in our fleet ate a turbo before the 80k turn-in. I would consider another, probably only the 2.7, since I've never really heard of issues with those. |
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Quoted: The Tacoma does nothing great (or even good), but does all things kind of just ok. Just had mine on some trail in Utah and Colorado these past few weeks. It's a capable little mountain goat which impressed me because I'm not a fan of the Tacoma. Please. Drive one in a hilly or mountainous area before buying. I wish I did. I test drove 3 times on flat midwestern ground and the second it saw a hill, I immediately had buyer's remorse. The ECU refresh (TSB Drivability Concerns) from the dealer made it better, but it's not what I would consider a "fix". I like the truck.....I don't love the truck. It fits in the garage and my wife likes to drive it over my other 4 full sized trucks. It was for work, but it really can't do work with it's little plastic bed. 1/2 ton would be a stretch. I don't buy trucks for gas milage, but the Tacoma sucks in that department too. The rare time I see 18MPG as an average....I feel like I hit the lottery. It's a toy for me. A street legal side by side with heat and a shitty radio. We use it for camping out of (I made a nice sleeping platform with storage underneath). It is not for serious use of any kind. 2020 OR. 6 ft bed. Double cab. It's grown on me and I can live with it. I could never use one for work or as a daily driver. Especially on anything but flat ground. Great looking truck. I get lots of compliments on it. But it's just a toy. I would look elsewhere if buying another truck today. View Quote The 4.0 is SO much better then the 3.5 as a truck motor that it isn't even funny. Yeah less HP but the 0-60 times don't really reflect that at all between the two motors. The last couple of 4.0 year in the Taco really REALLY hold their value. |
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Did you put ebay/autozone coils in your truck? Usually coils burning out = chinesium garbage. Just saying it might be an easy fix - right now is a terrible time to shop for a truck.
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Quoted: The 4.0 is SO much better then the 3.5 as a truck motor that it isn't even funny. Yeah less HP but the 0-60 times don't really reflect that at all between the two motors. The last couple of 4.0 year in the Taco really REALLY hold their value. View Quote I have heard that about the 4.0 motor. It sounds nice. At the time I bought this last year, I couldn't even trade it in even though I was offered $5k more than I paid for it due to no other inventory. I also had quite a bit of aftermarket on it, like air bags, cap, sliders, etc. So I took it out of the work fleet and it became a toy instead. It really struggled even unladen over the Rockies on the trip I just did. Lock out to S4, ECT on, grasp the rosary beads harder, etc... It doesn't sting so much when I think about it as a recreational toy. I love the retro but refined "compact truck feel". It looks cool. But for me, other than recreation, it has no real world value. Or.....let me just put it this way. Tacoma owners always go on and on about "Muh Resale Value!!!" One has to ask themselves exactly what other automobile in the history of automobiles has their owners fantasizing so hard about the day they can finally dump their vehicle? You won't ever hear this from anyone but the insufferable Tacoma fanboy. |
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Ranger for the value, Tacoma for the resale.
On a side note, I got a nicely optioned Tundra SR5 4x4 with ext cab for $36k after 3500 rebate and before tax in 2019. Doubt there is a rebate now, but should still be close to your $40k budget. The rear seats of a Tundra ext cab are probably just as roomy if not roomier than the rear seat of a quad cab Ranger or Tacoma. |
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Quoted: Quoted: If you can hold off till later this year, look at the 2022 Nissan Frontier. Pretty much what I was thinking. These are looking really good and Nissan typically allows for decent discounts. Interesting take on reliability vs Tacoma |
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View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: Price point Value Ranger Lariat with Adaptive Cruise Canyon AT4 would be runner up in the price range. I’m actually shocked out how many of my Toyota loyalist friends dumped the current Gen Tacoma. Around here a Loaded Frontier Pro-4x is 35k otd. I don’t like em, but maybe you will https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/77256/IMG_20210207_164126-1879697.jpg I may be a damn drunk with a 5" penis but at least I don't drive a damn GMC Canyon. |
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damn for $40,000
just get one of those on the lot Tundra SR5's with the 4.7 and the 4 doors with the 6.5' bed. |
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Another vote for the Gladiator. Sport hard tops can easily be had for under $40k. Solid 3.6 V6, very good FWD system, and if you get the tow package, you get a Dana rear end. Very competitive payload and towing compared to your first three choices, and none of those can take the roof or doors off. :)
Of course, owning a Gladiator can send you down the very deep rabbit hole of Jeep modding. :) |
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Quoted: You might want to consider a subscription to Consumer Reports. I was surprised to view the various ratings and issues with your three selections. BTW, a monthly subscription is only $10 and an annual subscription is only $39. https://www.consumerreports.org/join I have been subscribing to them for decades and they have saved me so much money in addition to alerting me to best and poor products in the same product line. Good luck with your search! View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: My 07 F150 has 215k miles and is acting up. Coils and plugs keep burning up and the trans seems to be going out. I dont tow anything big, never will. Between the Tacoma, Colorado and Ranger, what would you get? Do you have either? Do you like yours? What is the best 4x4 of the three under $40,000? Even tho i want a 4x4, this will be a daily driver to work and will only see light off roading for hunting and bad weather. You might want to consider a subscription to Consumer Reports. I was surprised to view the various ratings and issues with your three selections. BTW, a monthly subscription is only $10 and an annual subscription is only $39. https://www.consumerreports.org/join I have been subscribing to them for decades and they have saved me so much money in addition to alerting me to best and poor products in the same product line. Good luck with your search! Consumer Reports is for moms deciding on which vacuum to buy. |
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Quoted: Taco: I bought a 3.5l TRD sport with manual gear box, averages 13 mpg, 15mpg on the freeway. Most of the gears were not setup for NM-TX, and I almost never could use the top gear unless I was doing 90mph. The absolute worst engine/trans combo I have ever driven. First was tall, 2nd was a good jump followed by having to rev to 5500rpm so it would go and so on and so forth. Hated it enough I swapped into the 4runner. View Quote I agree with this. Owned a 2016 TRD off-road. Worst engine and transmission combo I've ever driven as well. Sold it and bought a power wagon which was awesome, but too big for any trails here in Montana. I'm now in a jeep gladiator, and I'll never go back to a Tacoma. |
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Quoted: Another vote for the Gladiator. Sport hard tops can easily be had for under $40k. Solid 3.6 V6, very good FWD system, and if you get the tow package, you get a Dana rear end. Very competitive payload and towing compared to your first three choices, and none of those can take the roof or doors off. :) Of course, owning a Gladiator can send you down the very deep rabbit hole of Jeep modding. :) View Quote All gladiators and wranglers have Dana axles. |
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